Cultivation of field crops is a challenge and risky business in sloping areas. A study was conducted as a demonstration model for the sloppy lands of Fateh Jang, Pakistan. The objectives of this study were to monitor the runoff water and soil sediment loss under different vegetative covers and slope gradients in comparison with bare fallow on each slope gradient. Three artificial slope gradients i.e., 1%, 5% and 10% were established and three crops i.e., Wheat, Gram and Lentil were cultivated on each slope gradient. Soil and water losses were quantified against each slope gradient and every cover crop for the period of 4 years. Total soil sediment losses during this study were 51% in Lentil, 30% in Gram and 25% in Wheat were lesser compared with bare soil whereas, water losses from Lentil, Gram and Wheat were 69%, 75% and 73% lesser respectively while compared with bare plots. The highest soil and water losses were monitored at 10% slope gradient following 5% and then 1% slope gradients respectively.

ABSTRACT. Albizia lebbeck is a multipurpose tree that has many benefits for the environment and the end user. The extent to which this tree species is cultivated is very low due to seed coat dormancy, which causes a longer germination period and late seedling growth. This research was done at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, located in Kumasi, Ghana, at the Department of Horticulture, to ascertain the effect of seed pretreatment on germination and early seedling growth. Germination was observed in seeds pretreated with hot water (100º) for 1 minute (T1), dry heat (90º) for 2 minutes (T2), in 6% hydrogen peroxide solution for 30 minutes (T3), cold water at room temperature for 24 hours (T4) and untreated seed (T5) as the control. The experiment was conducted using a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The data obtained for seed germination percentage were statistically analysed using one-way analysis of variance in Statistix 7.0 software, and the least significant difference at 5% probability level was used to separate the means of height, collar diameter and number of leaves. A comparison between the pretreated and control seeds showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) on germination percentage, germination rate, and root and shoot dry weights of Albizia lebbeck. However, it had a positive influence (P < 0.05) on early growth characteristics. Seeds soaked in cold water (T4) had maximum early seedling growth. Hydrogen peroxide treatment (T3) yielded the highest collar diameter growth. Hot water treatment (T1) had the lowest height, collar diameter and number of leaves. Cold water at room temperature should be encouraged as a pretreatment method for the early growth of Albizia lebbeck seedlings.

Genetic diversity present in gene pool is an important determination for breeding programs, and characterization is useful of building crop plant collections primarily based on the knowledge of the presence of valuable genes and traits. Developing successful varieties for increasing the future yield and quality of tomato depend mainly on the genetic diversity of parents used in the breeding program. Molecular characterization of 21 tomato genotypes used in in Pakistani breeding program was studied using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Total 102 bands were amplified among 21 genotypes using 20 RAPD primers. Overall 73.5% polymorphism was shown as 75 out of 102 loci were polymorphic. High degree of divergence between varieties was indicated by low level of monomorphic bands. The number of PCR products per primer varied from 2-8 with an average of 5.1 bands per primer. Primer GL J-20 and GL C-09 produced maximum number of bands whereas the primers GL A-09 produced the lowest. The polymorphism per RAPD primer ranged from 50% to 100% with an average of 73.5%. The accumulative analysis of amplified products generated by RAPD’s was enough to assess the genetic diversity among the genotypes. The information would be helpful for formulating future breeding and genome mapping programs. This study will also work as an indicator for tomato breeders to evolve varieties with genetic diverse back ground to achieve sustainability in tomato production in the country.

The purpose of this paper was to assess the prevailing relationships in the supply structure of the agribusiness sector in European Union countries over the years. The study focused on 25 European Union countries (Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta were excluded) to address the changes in the supply structures of agriculture and food industries, the two major components of agribusiness. The study was of a dynamic nature. Although the study period was 2000–2014, this paper only presents the figures for the first and the last year, i.e. 2000 and 2014. The main focus was on drawing conclusions on the trends observed which proved to be relatively stable in the years covered. The input–output analysis was used by aggregating the sectors of the economy for a better transparency of the inference process. As shown by this study, EU countries at higher development levels witness a decline in the share of the chemical industry in the mix of goods and services supplied to agriculture. Conversely, less developed countries saw that ratio increase. Also, the share of goods supplied to agriculture from the fuel and energy sectors goes up in most EU countries. As regards the food industry, this study observed high shares of agriculture, services and self-supply in the supply structure of EU countries. This analysis extends the existing knowledge on the relationships in the structure of materials supplied to the agribusiness because in addition to agriculture itself (which was addressed by similar studies found in literature) it takes account of the food industry. Moreover, based on long-term observations, it endeavors to capture the prevailing relationships in several countries at a time.